The Brooklyn Nets’ recent stretch of success will certainly affect how the organization will operate ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline. Sitting just over a month away, the Nets have several players who could be up for departure, but they have also gone 6-3 through December ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While Brooklyn’s success has been large in part due to the league’s top defensive rating this month (102.8), Michael Porter Jr.’s scoring surge has given the team enough of an offensive cushion to win games. The 27-year-old is averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists on incredible 49-40-82 shootings splits this season.
While this is his first season in Brooklyn, Porter’s All-Star-esque production is expected to draw interest from other teams ahead of the trade deadline. What’s more is that the Nets are reportedly willing to entertain offers.
There are plenty of teams that could use the offensive push that Porter brings to the table. However, multiple factors could keep the organization from moving before early February.
For one, if the Nets keep winning and get closer to .500, they could retain assets and wait until the offseason to make a move. It wouldn’t be the first time Brooklyn holds off on making a deadline deal, as the team kept Cam Johnson through the entire 2024-25 season and eventually sent him to the Denver Nuggets for Porter.
If the right offer comes along before Feb. 5, the Nets have a reason to take it and continue to embrace the rebuild, stockpiling future assets. However, Porter has been a positive presence, and Brooklyn shouldn’t settle.
The organization was criticized for merely fielding Johnson’s trade offers last season, but that was when the team didn’t have any youth on the roster. The Nets have five first-round rookies and a plethora of draft picks for the rest of the decade, and if they keep winning games and developing talent, there shouldn’t be so much of a need to get rid of Porter.
Of course, this recent stretch of success could go away before fans can truly relish it. If Brooklyn returns to its losing ways in January, the focus will go back to securing the best odds for a top draft pick.
But there still wouldn’t be a rush to move on from the 6-foot-10 wing. Especially if Porter gets an All-Star nod, the Nets will have plenty of leverage in the offseason. The deadline is expected to bring offers, but the question is whether or not they’ll be lucrative enough to take them.